Blanco State Park Review & Rating

Blanco State Park Overview:

Review of Blanco State Park

Blanco State Park is a small Texas state park with screened shelters, full hook-up sites, and water and electric sites. There are also several different picnic and day use areas along the Blanco River.

The roads are paved, the sites are shaded, and park is clean and well maintained. The staff we met was friendly and helpful.

Amenities and Fun Things To Do:

Blanco State Park has 10 sites in a circle under the trees that are full hook-up - water, electric (30/50), and sewer. These sites are level and somewhat spacious and each site has a covered picnic table on a concrete pad, lantern holder, fire pit, and grill. The hook-ups are conveniently located and the sites are level and paved. We got our 42 footer into the site with no problem.

There are also 25 additional sites for tent or RV camping in another camping loop. All of these sites have water, 30 AMP service, a covered picnic table, lantern holder, and fire pit.

There are 7 screened shelters, most of which overlook the Blanco River.

Two dams within the park create some waterfalls and deep swimming or fishing areas all along the banks of the river.

Some of the amenities and things to enjoy during your stay at Blanco River State Park include:

several different picnic and day use areas along the Blanco River

showers and restrooms

two different playground areas

volleyball court

group picnic area and a group picnic pavilion

dump station

tube, canoe and kayak rentals are available for rent in the park office for use in the river

Park Store with apparel, gifts, souvenirs, field guides, and other educational items

good fishing for largemouth bass and catfish and excellent opportunities to catch some sunfish

swimming in the Blanco River

short nature trail

Across from the full hook-up sites is some private property that is home to some Llama that will come up to the fence asking for some food!

A Typical Texas Outsider Day:

We stayed at Blanco State Park on our way home from a fun trip to Horseshoe Bay, Kerrville, and Guadalupe River State Park - we wanted to check out the Park and play the nearby Vaaler Creek Golf Course and we wanted a place where the Austin grandkids could come down and join us for a couple nights.

Before they arrived we played golf at nearby Spring Branch's River Crossing Club and at Vaaler Creek Golf Course - a couple of fantastic courses that you should go out of your way to play. And it sure felt good to jump in the cool water of Blanco River after 18 holes of golf in 100 degree weather!

When the grandkids arrived we spend more time playing in the river, fishing, playing some games, and feeding the Llama.

Cool Nearby Activities:

From our campsite it was less than a 10 minute walk to downtown Blanco, where we had a pretty good sandwich at Redbud Cafe Market & Pub and some tasty and very inexpensive Mexican food at Hacienda El Charro.

Redbud Cafe is located in the town square which also has a couple more restaurants, some antique and other shops, and a nearby bowling alley. We didn't find much else to see or do in Blanco but according to the Blanco Chamber of Commerce website there are some art galleries, lavender farms, and museums to visit.

As mentioned earlier, there are some fantastic golf courses nearby - use this golf map to find them and read our reviews.

Why not zip down to Canyon Lake and go fishing, swimming, or rent a boat and enjoy this scenic lake with clear emerald green water. Read our review of Canyon Lake to learn why we like this lake and what there is to see and do.

You'll have fun feeding the Llama at Blanco State Park, but if you really want to get up close and personal with a wide variety of animals, then visit the nearby Exotic Ranch Zoo. There are over 500 animals and more than 80 speciies, a number of which are endangered, waiting for you to pet and feed them. Read about our fun tour with Exotic Ranch Zoo.

Campsites: low scores are given for sites that are right next to each other (good for getting to know your neighbors, but not what we’re looking for when we’re camping); have no lantern holder, no water or electricity, no fire pit, no grill, or no picnic table (or it’s rotten wood); have no trees and no view; the ground cover is crushed rock (my bare feet hate that stuff!); and they require a lot of work to get your rig level.

Things To Do: Bonus points are given for campgrounds that offer lots of fun things to do at the park or very nearby – this includes: biking, hiking, climbing, boating, entertainment, golf, swimming, fishing, volleyball, horseshoes, and more

About Texas Outside

Texas Outside has been alive & well since 1996 - that's ancient by today's internet standards! Texas Outside was originally developed by Lone Star Internet which is an Austin based web development company with an excellent reputation & client base. In March of 2006, we purchased Texas Outside & made a commitment to add new, exciting, & informative content on Texas outdoor activities & fun things to see & do.